Michigan Birth Injury Settlements

Birth injuries can have a devastating impact on both a child and a family.  Lawsuits seeking compensation for harm to a baby before, during, and after the time of birth often result in substantial settlements.  These settlements are intended to provide enough compensation to help parents take care of their child from infancy through the rest of their life.

What Is The Amount Of A Birth Injury Settlement?

The settlement amount depends on a number of factors.  These are determined on a case-by-case basis as no two are exactly the same.  Some of the factors used to calculate the settlement include the:

• Severity of the injury to the baby, such as brain damage, paraplegia, and other conditions
• Permanency of the injuries and how they will affect the baby over time
• Type and amount of medical treatment needed over the lifetime
• Costs and expenses associated with lifetime medical care
• Prescription needs and costs for all medical conditions
• Financial hardships imposed on the family for caring for the child
• Educational and other special needs for the child
• Housing and transportation costs for the child
• Need for supervision and monitoring of the child at all times

In most cases, our birth injury attorneys hire a doctor, nurse, and life care planner to project the current and future needs of the child.  They develop a plan that accounts for all costs associated with raising the child and then the needs when the child enters adulthood.  We also hire an economist to calculate the lifetime costs, including inflation and interest rates.

Our Michigan Birth Injury Settlements

• $7,530,000 settlement for a child who suffered permanent blindness in Detroit.
• $6,500,000 settlement for a young boy with brain damage from over-sedation after birth
• $3,000,000 settlement for a baby who suffered a brain injury due to the failure to properly read fetal monitoring strips.
• $3,500,000 settlement for a child who died from an undiagnosed brain bleed after birth
• $3,000,000 settlement for a child who suffered severe injury from a vacuum extractor.
• $1,900,000 settlement for a child who suffered birth trauma during delivery.
• Confidential settlement for a mother and her child whose fetal heart monitor was ignored, resulting in permanent brain injuries

Examples of Other Michigan Birth Injury Settlements

• $6,000,000 settlement for a premature baby who suffered hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and spastic quadriplegia during surgery
• $5,850,000 settlement against a Michigan hospital, doctors, and nurses for failure to treat high bilirubin which resulted in a newborn’s brain damage.
• $4,375,000 settlement for a child who suffered severe birth-related hypoxic-ischemic brain injuries. The child incurred neurological injuries because of a nurse’s professional negligence.
• $3,575,000 birth injury settlement due to the delay in performing a C-section. The baby developed spastic quadriplegia and cerebral palsy due to the delay.
• $2,750,000 HIE settlement in a birth injury malpractice lawsuit. The baby was born with cerebral palsy when health care providers failed to take the proper precautions for a mother with a history of growth-restricted pregnancies. The negligent failure to properly monitor fetal development resulted in intrauterine growth restriction, hypoxia-ischemia, and infection causing severe brain damage.
• $2,000,000 settlement in a birth injury lawsuit for a baby who suffered permanent brain damage due to undiagnosed Strep B in utero

How Does the Settlement Money Get Paid?

Settlement funds in a birth injury case are usually paid in two ways. First, there may be a lump sum of money to take care of the present needs of the child and pay for past medical bills.  The funds can be used to secure appropriate housing and other expenses, as well as to assist the parents in raising the child.  The court may require some type of oversight for the use of a portion of these funds.

Other settlement funds are often placed into a structured annuity insurance policy.  This policy is designed by a planner, along with the parents and attorney, to provide regular payments to the family and child over many years.  This helps provide the parents with comfort that their child will have the necessary funds and be cared for even when they are no longer able to do it.

Contact our Birth Injury Settlement Lawyers

Our experienced attorneys are available now to personally evaluate your child’s case and let you know the likelihood of getting a top birth injury settlement.  Call us now for your free, no-obligation case review to speak to a lawyer.  We charge no legal fees unless there is a settlement.